Starlight River
by RainWhisker13
Summary: Rain and Fury have been rogues ever since they were born. Their mother was killed off by whitecough, and their father never cared about them. Now they attempt to join AuroraClan. Their journey through the Clan will change the lives of all Clan cats forever, as well as their own. But will it be for better or for worse? Rated T for violence/blood.
1. The Beginning

The cheers rang out clear and sharp in the crisp leaf-fall air. As always, snow came very early in AuroraClan. Snowflakes waltzed through the sky, coming to rest on the fur of the inhabitants, who didn't seem the least bit bothered by the white nothingness. The trees danced with the wind, that carried the flakes of snow in return.

"Furystorm! Furystorm! Furystorm!"

A bright ginger tom stood out against the pale white of the falling snow. He didn't seem bothered by the cold, even though his fur was bright green eyes were foreign in this pale, pale world. They were not the light hue of winter, but the bright green of the mid-summer grasses. Never has this cat flinched away from fear, never has he crumbled. The fight for self-preservation that all loners go through had hardened him beyond belief. To some, he comes off as cold and heartless. But if you are brave enough to crack the thick shell that he had grown, then you shall see what lies beyond the tough, cold act.

At his side stood a smaller gray and black she-cat. Her eyes were a bright blue, that seemed to fit in with their surroundings. They secretly reminded most cats of the pure, sapphire sky that can only be seen in the best of skies. But here in AuroraClan, the skies held the gray of winter. Her short but soft gray pelt, and black ears, paws, and tail-tip seemed to be shaking with the cold. Unlike her noble brother, she wasn't used to the cold. Her heart was always reaching for the sky. Always, she would try and pry through her brother's thick, emotion-less shell. So far, she was the only one who could. In the past seven days that they'd spent in camp, cats had tried again and again to be friends. The most he could do was flick his ear in agreement or twitch his tail in denial.

As soon as the noise died down, another call came from the top of a giant rock that was reserved for the leader. The leader, known as Brackenstar, looked out over his Clan. "Rain! Step forward, please."

The gray she-cat stepped forward, not attempting to hide her giddy excitement and nervousness. She tipped her head back to look upon the pale brown tabby tom atop the rock.

"Do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code, and never break the laws of the Clans?" Brackenstar's voice boomed across the clearing, where the snow-cats were assembled.

"I do." Rain answered back, her voice loud enough for all to hear. Her voice wasn't as strong as Brackenstar's or her brother's, but that didn't mess with her.

"Then you shall be known from this moment on as Rainwhisker! May StarClan light your path!" He repeated the sacred initiation with her brother.

"Rainwhisker! Furystorm! Rainwhisker! Furystorm! Rainwhisker! Furystorm!"

Their yowling was deafening, and the snow seemed to fall harder. It swirled around Furystorm and Rainwhisker's paws, the wind ruffling their pelts. It was almost as if the wind and snow accepted them as well.


	2. Battle Training

Silverpaw was never exactly a nice cat. She wasn't easy to get along with, although she managed to get along with a few other cats. Silverpaw's favorite thing to do was battle practice, so when her mentor, Frostclaw, asked her what she wanted to do, that was her natural answer. Frostclaw had a surprise for her, though. He knew what she would choose, so he got the deputy of AuroraClan, Pinefoot, to bring his own (much older) apprentice to spar with Silverpaw.

Pinefoot's apprentice, Webpaw, was a large, muscular tom. He was the classic fluffy pale grey that symbolized a cat of AuroraClan. He was a caring cat, but didn't take kindly to cats with as much attitude as Silverpaw. His sister, Flashpaw, was the same way.

Silverpaw and Frostclaw met in the training area. It was sheltered by many trees, so the snow was only a thin layer of white. They met Pinefoot and Webpaw, who had brought the two newcomers with them. The bright orange cat unsettled Silverpaw, and his fur hurt her eyes, as they've always been used to the pale, flat colors of winter. He always wore a straight face, and never once has Silverpaw seen him look happy or say a single word to anyone besides his sister.

Rainwhisker was pressed against Furystorm, shivering in the cold. Furystorm seemed to think nothing of the shaking Rainwhisker.

"I brought these two along so maybe they could learn a thing or two about how the Warriors fight," Pinefoot explained. "We don't want them playing 'Kill the Badger' in a battle."

"What's th-th-that?" Rainwhisker asked, her shivering mutating her words. "Is it a g-g-game?"

"Never mind that," Pinefoot said, stealing a look at the gray she-cat.

Silverpaw gazed at Furystorm. The ginger tom narrowed his bright green eyes, and held her look. He almost looked like he knew he could whoop her furry little butt. In all truth, Silverpaw thought he probably could. His sister, though... Silverpaw didn't know what to make of her. She seemed strong, but at the moment she was cold. Nobody in AuroraClan was ever cold, and that made Rainwhisker different. A lot of cats didn't like differences beyond fur color. At least Rainwhisker's coat and eyes remotely fit in.

"This is going to be a freestyle match," announced Pinefoot. "The winner gets to choose if I fight Rainwhisker or Furystorm. The other cat versus Frostclaw."

Silverpaw and Webpaw stood about three fox-lengths apart, crouched with their back legs tensed. "Begin!" yowled Pinefoot.

There was a flash of light gray and a flash of silver, and then Silverpaw was on top of Webpaw, gripping his back with her sheathed paws.

"Very nice!" exclaimed Frostclaw.

"Shake her off!" yowled Pinefoot enthusiastically. Webpaw was already in the process of getting rid of her. He rolled over onto his back, crushing the smaller apprentice. He rolled off of her, and leaped backwards so he was facing Silverpaw. The silver she-cat was regaining her breath quickly. She sprang at Webpaw, who turned around and, with a last glance behind him, kicked out explosively with his back paws. Silverpaw went flying, slamming into a tree. She shook the snow from her pelt and bounced over to Webpaw. She didn't look quite so quick to attack, though. So far aerial strikes weren't working, even though they were her favorites to perform.

Webpaw narrowed his eyes, shifting some of his weight to his back paws. He raised a paw and in a flash brought it down on top of Silverpaw's head. It wasn't nearly as hard as he would've done it in a serious battle. Silverpaw moved back, shaking her head. She had never been defeated as bad as this, and that made her furious with herself. She had started out with a clever move, but now she couldn't seem to do anything right.

"Think, Silverpaw! What do you think will work?" Frostclaw suggested loudly.

Silverpaw did some thinking. She knew that she shouldn't get too close to him, that front paw blow had proved that. And he probably expected her to take that into account. So Silverpaw charged at him, sliding under him and pummeling him with her back paws. Webpaw collapsed on top of her.

"That's cheating!" Silverpaw yowled. "He can't do that!"

"Actually, it's not," pointed out Pinefoot. "I said _freestyle. _And also, on that point, I do believe Webpaw won, don't you agree, Frostclaw?"

"I do," Frostclaw said, nodding.

"So who am I going to battle?" Pinefoot asked intently.

Webpaw got off of Silverpaw, throwing her a victorious look. "Rainwhisker," he said without a moment's hesitation.

Pinefoot nodded. He looked over to the two former rogues. "This is only a test to see what you know. No claws or teeth. This is just to see what you've learned, so don't worry."

Silverpaw snickered. "Rainwhisker's going down," she told Webpaw.

"So is Furystorm," added Webpaw. "I can't wait to see how they fight without using their claws!" Webpaw exclaimed.

Rainwhisker faced the cream-colored tom. His paws were light brown, and there was a nasty scar on his shoulder.

Furystorm faced Frostclaw. The white warrior looked calm and collected, his pure white coat shining in the light.


	3. Underestimated

Rainwhisker faced Pinefoot, looking him directly in the eyes. She had heard one of the younger cats say that Pinefoot would win. She would prove that wrong. _I'll show them, _she thought fiercely. The ferocity in her eyes must have surprised her opponent, for he shifted his weight a little.

"Go!" Webpaw yowled before Silverpaw.

Rainwhisker and Pinefoot's battle did not go like the apprentices' battle. They circled each other, watching the other cats paws intently. Pinefoot still looked arrogant, but there was also the slightest shred of doubt. Rainwhisker took advantage of that, and feinted to the right. She immediately swerved off to the left as he leaped to the right. Pinefoot just had time to turn around before Rainwhisker slammed her paws down on his back. It was difficult not using your claws in a battle. It would be like you not being able to use your fist in a fight.

Pinefoot reared, flinging her paws off of his back. Rainwhisker, instead of going to the ground like he expected, balanced on her two hind-legs and swatted at his shoulder while he was still unbalanced from rearing. It was clear that Furystorm was winning his match, since Rainwhisker could hear Frostclaw snarling in rage. Pinefoot jumped at Rainwhisker, and Rainwhisker pressed herself to the earth. She spun while he was still leaping over the top of her, and gazed coldly at him.

_I shall not lose._

Pinefoot came at her in the flash of a creamy pelt. Like mentor like apprentice. Rainwhisker whapped him upside the head, and he returned the favor, striking her right behind the ear. Rainwhisker felt glad for the no-claws rule now; without it she wouldn't have an ear. The fight went on, trading hit, attack, retreat, slash, jump, leap, hit, and kick back and forth between them. Furystorm and Frostclaw had finished their round. Furystorm had won, by the sound of much congratulations from Frostclaw. Finally Pinefoot leaped back for a moment, breathing as heavily as Rainwhisker.

"I believe this is a draw."

"In all honesty, I thought that you two would be easy to beat." Frostclaw admitted. "But I didn't even win. I think that maybe you two should teach some of your moves to groups of apprentices, especially the stepping-stone thing you did," Frostclaw mewed with a quick glance at Furystorm.

"That _was _pretty cool," one of the apprentices admitted sheepishly. It was the male, Webpaw.

Silverpaw said nothing, just walked back to camp, waving her tail in the air, as if to say, _I could have done better._

Rainwhisker gazed at Silverpaw for a moment, but then let her gaze drift to the remaining apprentice. He was gazing up at Furystorm with wide eyes. Apparently Webpaw was not used to seeing cats fight so well.

Furystorm, however, just gazed up into the sky, twitching his ear as a single snowflake rested on it.


End file.
